


Love at First Bite

by Cleopatra (empressofthelight)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Magical Tattoos, cursing...lots of cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 13:24:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5006410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empressofthelight/pseuds/Cleopatra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Seto Kaiba's 18th birthday and like every 18 year old does on their birthday, he meets with the Inscriber. She writes the meaningful sentence or phrase that his soul mate will say to him on his left arm. Which he must cover with a parchment arm band until the words are said. Then the words will disappear. When Kaiba looks down at his newly inked left arm, the words he reads are so ridiculous that he thinks its a joke at first. How meaningful can  'Are you going to eat that?' really be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love at First Bite

She was laughing at him...AT HIM! At The Seto Kaiba. He shifted uneasily as she held weakly to his left arm. "Are you going to tell me what's so damn funny?" Kaiba growled.

The old woman, of at least 100 years by her looks, gave him a toothless grin; a spark in her dull, cataract covered eyes, "I would love to Mr. Kaiba, but I'd much rather show you."

With her right hand she took a fabled Scribe from her desk and shakily wrote on his bare forearm. This was an interesting tradition. With a quill, known as the Scribe, the Inscriber wrote a sentence or phrase on the left arm's of everyone when they turned 18. That sentence or phrase would be the first meaningful thing their Soul Mate would say to them to let the other know who they were. Today was Kaiba's birthday. 18 years old, only five months from graduation and he would be free to run his company and not be bothered by petty bull shit like he is right now. Kaiba glared at the old woman waiting for her to either talk or spontaneously combust. She did neither as she finished writing and set the Scribe down on her desk. He honestly expected the mysterious ink to burn, considering it stayed on permanently until the words were said.

Kaiba pulled his arm closer so he could inspect the no doubt god awful handwriting, only to choke on the sharp breath he took, "There has to be some mistake... This can't possibly be the meaningful thing my soul mate will say to me."

She grinned at him again with knowing eyes, "No mistake, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba looked down at his arm again, seething with anger. There had to be a mistake. The old woman had completely gone mad. Shoving his dress shirt sleeve back down his arm with all of the indignation he could muster, Kaiba stood from the chair and whirled around to leave the office. Before he could close the door he heard the old woman call out from behind him, "Mr. Kaiba. It would probably be best for you to think about why that would be meaningful to you instead of be angry with me for writing it. Oh! And don't forget to grab your parchment cover."

Now even more livid than he was before, Kaiba slammed the door behind him after grabbing the flimsy arm cover from the pile next to the doorway. He stormed down the empty hallway of the school. Glaring down at his watch on his left wrist, he saw that the time was 4:00 p.m. The old bat-crazy woman wasted a half hour of his time cackling. As he rounded the corner and saw the school exit just 10 feet away, Kaiba heard a familiar voice from behind him, "Kaiba! Wait!"

His shoulders tensed but he stopped anyway, "Yami, I'm already late for a board meeting and I know the geek squad is probably looking for you."

"I'll be quick. How did it go?"

Kaiba didn't respond. He had nothing nice to say at this point.

Yami chuckled, "That bad huh?"

Despite his frustration with the Scribe, he noticed how Yami held too tightly to the parchment covering his left arm. He really wanted to ask about it but he truly was late, "Yes. I'll talk to you later about it."

Yami nodded curtly and watched Kaiba turn to leave with a strange expression marring his normally regal features. Yep, he really needed to find out what was going on.

 ---------

 

Twelve fucking hours later, he's STILL trying to fix the glitch in the new system. Didn't he have tech people to do shit like this? Apparently not. Pinching the bridge of his nose in both frustration and exhaustion, Kaiba took a few deep breaths. Maybe he should call it a night. He had to get up in two hours after all. Lifting his hand up to rest on the top of his laptop, Kaiba halted his movements when he heard a familiar ding come from it.

'Are you awake?'

'Yami, it's four in the morning,' Kaiba typed into the messenger, fully accepting another night of no sleep.

'I know but you've been busy all day.'

'Can't this wait until school tomorrow?'

For a split second Kaiba thought he was free. Any second now Yami would agree and they both could get at least an hour of sleep. 'It's important Kaiba.'

Damn it all to hell... 'What happened? Did Tea dump you?'

'No. Nothing like that...exactly.'

'Its late.'

'You mean early.'

'Just tell me.'

There was a long pause and Kaiba grew impatient. He rested his fingertips on the keyboard again before he noticed a new message.

'Ok...so you know my birthday was in October and I've been refusing to show anyone my arm because... Well, for one we aren't supposed to but I have a reason for not showing anyone.'

Kaiba waited for the rest. One minute...two minutes. '...and.'

'And since you finally got yours, I want to talk to you about it.'

Kaiba threw his head against the back of his office chair, muttering to himself, "Yami I will kill you when I get to school tomorrow..."

Furiously typing his response, he glared at the screen. Maybe Yami will get the hint if he glares enough. 'Fine, Yami. Lets talk. What the hell does it say?'

'I don't know if I should tell you. What if it's you who says it?'

Kaiba just stared at the screen. He couldn't be serious.

'Ok ok...It says "Go with her. You're in love with her."'

Kaiba groaned aloud. That wasn't good. 'Well, that tells me you fucked up somewhere. Sounds like you.'

'Fuck you, Kaiba.'

'So what are you going to do? It's either obvious that Tea isn't your soulmate, or your an idiot and cheat on her. I can see you doing something stupid like that.'

'You're not helping...'

'I have zero sympathy for you, Yami. You have a beautiful girlfriend and your habit of flirting with EVERYONE you see, apparently gets you into trouble. I've told you that countless times.'

'Still not helping...'

'What the hell do you want me to say? I'm sorry you fucked up? Why did you tell me anyway? You said so yourself. I could be the one to say that.'

'Ha! You say something selfless like that?'

'Well. When you're right, you're right. The day I say something like that please put me out of my misery.'

'What are friends for right?'

'Don't give me that sappy friend bullshit at 4 in the morning. Speaking of sappy friends, don't you have Yuugi and the Mutt for touchy feely shit like this?'

'I can't tell Yuugi.'

Kaiba raised a tired brow at that. He read it over and over again trying to figure out what Yami was saying. It was too late...early to deal with his life's drama. Before he could respond with a 'Why', against his better judgement, Yami messaged again.

'What does yours say?'

'None of your business.'

'That means its either sappy as hell or obnoxious. I have to know.'

Kaiba smiled and shook his head. He really needed to stop talking to Yami. He couldn't believe what he was typing, even as he hit send. 'What if you're the one who says it? Isn't that breaking a rule?'

'...man it's really bad then...'

'Yeah...it says,' He couldn't believe he was typing this. '"Are you going to eat that?"'

Kaiba waited for a while before Yami messaged back. 'Oh Gods! I needed that laugh Kaiba. Now seriously...What does it say?'

'I'm not joking.'

'Prove it at school today.'

Kaiba growled and rubbed his eyes before he roughly typed, 'Fine' and leaned back in the office chair. He refused to deal with Yami any longer and closed the computer.

Trudging over to the bed, Kaiba didn't bother changing clothes and laid down. For the next hour he had a crazy dream about Joey with puppy dog ears and a thick dog collar. When Kaiba opened his eyes hearing his alarm blaring, he swore he saw Joey's smiling face and heard him ask, "Are you going to eat that, Master?"

\---------

 

School had been hell, although Kaiba had already anticipated that. When lunch time rolled around, he started to think that this was the longest day he'd ever been through. Seeing Yami walk up to his table with Yuugi and Joey faithfully at his side, solidified that theory. "Hey Kaiba. You look really tired...Are you okay?"

Kaiba didn't bother looking up from his laptop when he gave Yuugi a sharp reply, "I don't know. Maybe you should ask Yami."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaiba saw Yuugi turn a questioning look to Yami who smiled innocently, "What? I couldn't sleep."

Yuugi sighed and shook his head, "I was wondering why you were up so early today."

"What'd ya talk about? Counting money?" Joey scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Yuugi glared at Joey, "Be nice."

"Yeah Mutt, listen to Motou. You never know when Animal Control will whip around the corner and take you away."

Joey grit his teeth together, pulling his hands from his pockets to reveal tightly clenched fists, "I'm not a dog ya piece 'o shit!"

Without making eye contact with Joey, Kaiba continued on, "Well if you keep barking like that, who can tell?"

"Come on Joey. Let's get some lunch," Yuugi desperately pulled at Joey's sleeve, hoping he would move.

"Yes, Mutt, go get lunch. I'm sure even you know not to bite the hand that feeds you."

Joey lunged forward, knocking a chair over before Yami grabbed him, "Go with Yuugi. You shouldn't let him get to you."

Kaiba looked down at his laptop, a smirk of satisfaction on his lips. Reluctantly Joey allowed Yuugi to lead him away. Kaiba glanced up to glare after the them while Yami sat down next to him, "Well... Show me."

His attention switched from Yuugi and Joey to Yami in an instant. Without another word, Kaiba rolled up his dress shirt sleeve and took off the parchment cover. Yami leaned forward and made a concerned face at first. Then, just like Kaiba expected him too, Yami busted out laughing. Kaiba scowled at Yami as he replaced his arm's coverings, "I'm glad you're amused."

"Sorry Kaiba... Wow..." Yami shook his head and then looked down at his own arm, "So I take it you are going to avoid eating around everyone."

"That was the plan," Kaiba mumbled and returned to his work on his laptop.

"I'm not so sure that's-"

Before Yami could finish his sentence a female voice drew their attention, "Babe! I was looking for you. Have you eaten yet?"

"It's a better plan than you have apparently..." Kaiba muttered quietly to him before Tea wrapped her arms around Yami's neck.

"No Beautiful, I haven't," Yami squeezed Tea's arms gently, seemingly ignoring him, before frowning at Kaiba, "Would you like me to get you anything?"

Kaiba glared at Yami over the laptop screen, apparently he had heard him.

"I'll take that as a no," Tea mumbled and pulled at Yami gently.

"I'll talk to you later Kaiba," Yami said, getting up form the table to follow Tea to the lunch line.

As Yami and Tea walked away, Kaiba stared at his left arm. He started to think that this tradition was more of a burden than an aid.

\------------------------

 

Three months later and the entire school was covered in prom memorabilia. Kaiba fiddled with the combination lock on the locker he shared with Yami. Tea and Yami leaned against the lockers next to him, being annoying with their sappy romantic bull shit, but what could he do? Yami was the only one in the entire school he could tolerate for more than 10 minutes. That being said, Tea was not.

"So I just bought my dress for prom. You are going to love it Yami."

Kaiba punched the locker after the fifth combination attempt, earning an amused tone from Yami, "Its 5, 20, 22. Remember?"

"I don't need your help. Its hard to think and keep from throwing up at the same time," Kaiba muttered as he finally got the damn locker to open.

Yami ignored him and continued his conversation with Tea, "I'm sure you will look stunning. I can't wait to dance with you."

Kaiba rolled his eyes when they started kissing. This was ridiculous. Why did he have to be subjected to this? Turning sharply to yell at them about PDA, Kaiba saw Yuugi running down the hall way looking very upset. With a quick slap to Yami's shoulder, Tea and Yami broke apart, "Go away if it bothers- ...What? What's wrong?"

Yuugi finally reached them, panting a little from running, "Yami! Tea! Somethings wrong with Joey. He won't tell me what's wrong."

Kaiba could hear Yuugi's voice waiver and knew he on the verge of crying. This must be pretty bad. Suddenly, he realized Yami was glaring at him. At first he didn't know why, having been to wrapped up in his own thoughts of what could cause the blond to be upset. Then it clicked, "It wasn't me this time. I haven't seen him all day."

"It's his birthday today," Yuugi whispered, barely audible, "He should be happy."

"We'll go cheer him up Yuugi. Lead the way," Tea smiled reassuringly and followed them down the hall.

Kaiba stood there and watched them leave, having a civil war with himself at that particular moment. One side wanted to follow after them and do what he always did, get Joey's mind on something else. AKA tearing him to pieces. The other side wanted nothing to do with any more bull shit from them, this damn question under the parchment, or people in general. Joey was probably fine; like all of them usually are. It's probably just him being mad because someone ate his last puppy treat or something stupid like that.

Closing the locker door, a thought flashed over his mind. Joey doesn't get upset. Mad? Yes. Furious? Yes. Confused? All the damn time, but for Yuugi to believe something was wrong then he had to be upset. Serenity... There could be something wrong with her, "Damn it..."

If that was the case... he had to know. Grumbling under his breath about irresponsible, over enthusiastic puppies who only tend to bark when nothing is happening, Kaiba made his way in the direction he saw the three leave. It didn't take long for him to hear Tea's voice ringing down the hall, "It can't be that bad Joey. The Inscriber shows us how to find our soulmate not give us insight into who they are, or how our relationship is going to be. For once, Joey, you are seriously over thinking this."

"Tea's right. It’s a way for us to know we found them. Nothing else," Yuugi added soothingly.

"Come on man. Unless it says 'Die!' or somethin' like that, it can't be all that bad," Tristan chuckled, obviously making light of the situation.

"Tristan!" Tea scolded.

"What?"

Kaiba leaned against the wall just outside of the class room door they were in. He could hear Joey's breathing and slight hiccups from sobbing earlier. Joey was that upset about what was written on his arm? Kaiba could sort of sympathize. He was STILL pissed about it, but he wasn't to the point of tears. Yami, who really should be upset, wasn't even that upset....or maybe he was. Kaiba sighed, realizing he sucks at this 'being a friend' thing. One problem at a time.

"Joey, you aren't the only one unhappy with what was written," Yami murmured to Joey.

Kaiba imagined Yami had moved to sit in front of the blond. That seemed to be the only way to guarantee his attention, "What do ya mean?"

He really had to listen to pick up Joey's pitiful question. Instantly he regretted not going with them. If Yami tells Joey what is written on his arm, he'll never hear the end of it, "I'm not to happy about what's written on my arm... And Kaiba isn't either."

"What...?"

"I can't give you details, Joey. Just know that it isn't the sweet, romantic, or insightful phrase we imagined."

"I'd rather it be somethin' stupid..." Joey muttered followed by a sniffle.

"Come on Joey, it's your birthday. Lets go celebrate. We can go to the arcade and then get burgers... Oh! And I have your birthday present at the shop," Yuugi sang with excitement.

That was Kaiba's cue to leave.

\------------------------

 

Kaiba leaned back against the kitchen island staring intently at the oven when he heard Mokuba walk into the room, "Hey big brother! How was-whoa..."

He didn't bother turning around, opting instead, to continue scowling at the oven. Every counter in the kitchen had freshly baked cookies, pies, cakes, and brownies. Mokuba cleared his throat and set down his back pack, "Looks like you were busy today."

"How was your sleep over?" Kaiba tried to sound calm despite the frustration written all over his face.

"It was great! I was kind of wondering... Since today is prom, I was thinking Noah could spend the night here. You're going with that Kara girl, right?" Mokuba asked hopefully.

"Kisara."

"Yeah that's it," Mokuba sat on the bar stool behind Kaiba, "so... did World War Three happen while I was gone?"

He could feel Mokuba's intent and concerned stare boring into his back, "I got bored."

"Bored?"

"Yes. I finished working on the new project and I'm bored," Kaiba snapped without meaning too and opened the oven just as a loud timer went off.

Grabbing his Blue Eyes White Dragon oven mitts, he reached into the oven to pull a tray of freshy baked cookies and set them on top of the stove. Mokuba didn't say anything at first and Kaiba really hoped he'd bought it. No such luck.

"Okay...well then, you are doing the wrong thing. You play competitors video games when you're bored because you enjoy complaining about how much pieces of shit they are."

"Language."

"Its a quote," Mokuba smirked; Kaiba could just feel it, "You only bake things when you're upset and you wear that pink apron when you are REALLY upset."

"I'm bored."

"Okay then, sad."

"Bored."

"Frustrated?"

Kaiba slammed the spatula down on the cookie sheet.

"Frustrated. Okay. Why are you frustrated?"

"Mokuba you aren't helping," he turned around to face Mokuba's radiant, mischievous smile.

"Well someone has to get you out of here so you're not late for your date," Mokuba shrugged.

"I don't want to go." Mokuba laughed making Kaiba's cheeks flush with a mix of embarrassment and frustration, "I mean, I don't see the point in going with her. She's not my soul mate."

"Ahhhh. Well, how do you know that?"

Kaiba unwrapped the parchment from his arm and showed Mokuba what was written on it.

"Are you serious?"

When Kaiba nodded, Mokuba fell off the bar stool from laughing so hard, "It isn't funny Mokuba."

Kaiba had managed to fill another cookie sheet with cookie dough and put it in the oven before Mokuba calmed down enough to continue talking. " Yeah," he giggled again before clearing his throat, "I see your point. So what are you going to do?"

"Go kicking and screaming..."

Mokuba shook his head and smiled, "Well you better get a shower, then. You're covered in flour. I'll watch the cookies."

Kaiba stared at Mokuba, wondering if he really just wanted him out of the kitchen so he could eat all of the sweets in the room. "You can have three... And yes. You can have Noah over."

Mokuba's eyes lite up like fireworks, "You're the best big brother ever!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

\---------------------------

 

Kaiba sat at one of the tables in the dimly lit and overly decorated banquette hall where the prom was being held. He watched Kisara roam around the room, dancing and flirting with any guy she could get to pay attention to her. Honestly, Kaiba was happy she was having such a good time. He saw no reason to ruin her night even though he didn't want to be there. Yami must be rubbing off on him. Speaking of Yami...

Searching the room for Yami, Kaiba stood up from the table. Yami wasn't there; Tea wasn't there. That was strange. Giving Kisara a quick glance to make sure she knew he wasn't leaving her there, Kaiba exited the building and dialed Yami's number. Yami finally answered after several call attempts, "Now really isn't a good time, Kaiba..."

"Why? Where are you two?"

Yami didn't answer at first, "We are at the shop."

Kaiba frowned, "Why? The dance started 15 minutes ago."

"It's a long story Kaiba. This is not my day."

Kaiba tried to think of something to say to cheer him up but kept coming up blank.

Luckily Yami didn't seem to expect any words of encouragement, "Yuugi isn't going to prom and Tea is trying to talk him into going."

That made a world of sense. Joey wasn't going so why would Yuugi go if he didn't have a date? Kaiba tried to stifle a smile that threatened to form on his lips thinking about Joey's 'excuse' to not go. Tristan was taking Serenity and he felt like it would be too awkward so he picked up a shift at his job at some diner. Where ever the hell that was. The only thing he knew was he'd never step food in a place that hired dogs as wait staff.

Kaiba was pulled from his musings when he heard Yami sigh, "Hang on a sec."

He then heard a thud sound, probably from the phone being set down. Kaiba expected to hear nothing else, so when Yuugi's voice came on the phone, he almost panicked, "You should go with Tea. I'm really fine staying here."

"I can't leave you here alone," Yami responded, "We are partners in crime right? We do things together."

Kaiba rolled his eyes begging for some deity to gag him with a spoon. That was, until he heard Yuugi's response, "Go Yami. She's been talking about going with you for months. ...Go with her. You're in love with her."

Judging by the loud thud of the phone before it disconnected, Yami had the same reaction he did. Did Yuugi just say the phrase on Yami's arm?

Kaiba walked back into the loud banquette hall and to the table he originally sat at. If he heard everything right, he doubted he'd hear or see the three of them for the rest of the night. Why that bothered him, was beyond all reasoning he could come up with. Maybe he should leave. The terrible music was messing with his head.

Just as he pushed out his chair to leave, his phone rang. Retrieving it from his pocket, he saw that it was Yami. Should he even answer it? He wanted nothing more to do with anyone's personal lives. Especially his own, at that moment. Against his better judgment, he answered the phone, "Yes Yami?"

"Don't leave yet. Yuugi, Tea and I will be there in 10 minutes."

"Did I just hear everything right earlier? If that's the case, what's going on with Tea?"

"I'll explain when we get there."

\---------------------------

 

Three hours later Kaiba was glad he made himself stay. Yami and Yuugi sat at the table with him, while Tea was off dancing and gossiping with her girl friends. Yami told him about how Tea was too elated to have actually witnessed Soul Mates finding each other in front of her, that she didn't care that she was now boyfriendless. To quote Yami, 'he'd worry about it later.' Yami and Yuugi rarely left each other's side all night and Yuugi brought several games to play with Kaiba since he knew they'd be bored. Kaiba won his first game against Yuugi in their entire history of knowing each other. It was a good night. Kisara came by to let him know she was leaving with someone else. He barely heard her and really didn't care.

After one final game with Yami and Yuugi, Kaiba decided to leave. The drive home was uneventful, but he did hear the thunder from an upcoming storm. As he walked into his home, he wondered if Mokuba and Noah were still awake. Being that it was only 10:30 he was sure they were. Making his way down the hallway, Kaiba raised his arm to knock on his brothers door when he heard his name amongst an array of giggles and laughter.

"Wow that sucks! I mean it really isn't something to worry about though. I don't think any one could stand your brother long enough to have a real relationship with him anyway."

"Hey! Seto is smart and-"

"Wealthy."

"Noah!" Kaiba heard Mokuba throw something that sounded like it would be a pillow or stuffed animal at him, "My big brother is a great guy... He just doesn't always see greatness in everyone else."

"He's going to be alone forever," Noah concluded with little sympathy.

"Well... Yeah, you're right. But I'm going to be with him forever, so you better get used to it. Remind me why we are friends again?"

"Because I'm honest and we both love video games."

Kaiba took a step back. Replaying their conversation over in his mind, he barely heard them laughing and play fighting again. He turned on his heel and walked back down the hallway towards the front door. He wasn't sure where he was going but he knew he was too angry to stay there. Why was he so angry? As he trudged down the street, drops of rain began to fall quickly turning into an all out down pour. Normally, the misfortune of being stuck in a rain storm would piss him off, but he was far too focused on  _why_ he was mad.

He had half a mind to forbid Mokuba from ever talking to that brat of a kid ever again. Not that Mokuba would listen to him. That being said, he still wasn't sure why he was mad at the kid or at Mokuba in the first place. They hadn't said anything that he hasn't heard before. As a matter of fact, Kisara had said something similar to him when they were out to dinner but he didn't care. Why did he care now? Was it because of the stupid thing on his arm or was it because it was Mokuba. Mokuba agreed with him. Mokuba was supposed to be on his side not THEIRS!

So if Mokuba agreed with them, then that probably meant that he was right. Meaning who ever is going to say this really stupid question... will probably feel the same way. So why did this imaginary person's opinion matter so much? Kaiba stopped walking to take a deep breath. His eyes stung but he wasn't sure if that was from the rain or how he was feeling. He looked around not recognizing where he was at all. How far had he walked? Seeing only darkness, Kaiba rubbed the water from his eyes until the light of an old Diner sign caught his attention. Lightning lit up the entire sky, making the darkened area a little more familiar.

Deciding to get out of the storm, Kaiba sloshed his way in the rain to the diner. Once he was out of the rain and safely inside the establishment, he immediately recognized it as the place Joey worked from how much the blond talked about it. A quick look around the diner proved he wasn't there though, or maybe he was hiding somewhere.

A young woman with red hair walked up to Kaiba with a towel, "Here you go Sugar. Go ahead and have a seat where ever you like. This storm is wicked tonight isn't it?"

Kaiba mumbled a 'thank you' and very uncomfortably made his way to a booth next to the window in a secluded corner of the diner. Not long after he sat down, the waitress came by and took his order. Before she turned to leave, Kaiba caught her attention and asked a really stupid question, "Is Joey Wheeler here tonight?"

"He was supposed to be," the waitress sounded really worried, "are you a friend of his?"

Kaiba didn't know how to answer that. When in doubt, lie, "Yes. We go to school together."

"I'm really worried about him. Even if he makes it in to work, this is his final chance..."

Kaiba caught on to what she was insinuating. Joey was going to be fired. Great... He really didn't want to be here for that. Seeing Joey humiliated always made him feel better, but the thought of it didn't quite sit will with him now. As if summoned, Joey came charging through the quiet diner's doors. He didn't say a word or wait for someone to confront him, he just bolted to the back. The waitress shook her head and patted Kaiba on the shoulder before walking away. All he could do was stare after her, dumbfounded. He'd officially lost his mind. Normally he would have screamed at her about touching him but today he felt like he needed the reassuring gesture. He needed to call Yami and cash in on that promise of euthanasia.

Before he knew it, the waitress brought out a burger and fries, as well as a hot cup of coffee, "Coffee's on the house Sugar. You look chilled to the bone from that rain."

"Thank you."

The waitress nodded and left, barely avoiding a head on collision with Joey and the manager, "My decision is final Joseph! This was your last chance."

"My car broke down! I'm soaking wet! Do ya think I did this for fun? Please don't fire me, David. I need this job."

"You should have thought about that when you didn't show up here at 4," the manager replied coldly and left the front counter to do his job in the back.

Kaiba watched Joey's reflection in the window sag his shoulders and wipe his wet bangs out of his face. Within moments Joey saw him. It was inevitable but he hoped it would take a little longer. Joey looked conflicted about what he wanted to do so Kaiba decided to make it easier for him and just stared at his food. He really wasn't hungry and he really didn't know why he ordered it in the first place. Wrapping his fingers around his coffee mug for warmth, Kaiba closed his eyes and tried to think.

"Aren't you supposed to be at prom with Kisara?" Joey asked-from what Kaiba could tell-with genuine concern.

If Joey was going to be honest then he probably should too, "She left early."

Joey didn't respond as he sat in the booth across form him and Kaiba was thankful for that. They sat in silence for a while until the coffee mug was lukewarm and Kaiba deep in thought. No matter what kind of excuse he could come up with for being the way he was, it all ended with Mokuba being right. Kaiba almost forgot Joey was there until the blond finally started to say something.

"I...uh..." Joey sighed in defeat and gestured towards Kaiba's plate, "Are you going to eat that?"

As if by magic, Kaiba's arm tingled much like it had when the Inscriber wrote on it months ago. Alarmed, confused, angry and a bunch of other emotions he had never felt before rendered him speechless. He stared at Joey, blinked a few times, and then slowly slid the plate over to him.

It was Joey. No. It was the Mutt. His soul mate was the Mutt. Now he was pissed again. Here he sat, soaking wet, exhausted, having crazy dreams, and trying to figure out how to change, all because of HIM?! Why? Why that worthless, flea ridden, mangy...

"I hate you," Kaiba wanted to sound angry, threatening or vengeful. Instead, he sounded defeated and weak.

Joey had to notice the lack of conviction in his voice. So Kaiba wasn't surprised when Joey stopped eating. He was surprised, however, by the slight shake of his left arm and honey eyes boring into him as if searching for the REAL meaning behind his words. After a moment, Joey smiled. A smile Kaiba had never seen before, "You're an asshole.Ya know that?"

"So I've been told," Kaiba frowned then, feeling his face heating up despite being cold everywhere else, "what's wrong with your arm?"

Joey leaned back away from the table, eyeing Kaiba up and down, before taking the parchment from his arm. Laying his arm down on the table for Kaiba to see, his arm was blank. Kaiba glanced from him to his own arm and removed the parchment to lay his arm next to Joey's. Both were blank.

"Yours said 'I hate you'... That makes a lot of sense," Kaiba whispered to himself.

"What did yours say? ...Wait," his lips twisted into a crooked grin as he erupted into laughter.

"Yep. 'Are you going to eat that?'"

Kaiba laughed with Joey, now he saw how funny it really was. When the waitress walked back over with the check, they were barely able to stop laughing to hear her, "All done sugar?"

"Ha! Yeah," Kaiba reached out to take the black book when Joey snatched it out of their hands, "What are you doing, Wheeler?"

"First of all, I ate your food. Second of all, I have a feelin' like this might be one of the only times I'll be able ta afford where we go on a date. Now I get to say I paid for our first date."

Kaiba shook his head, smiling fondly at the blond, "If you insist."

"I do. There you go Tara."

The waitress smiled and gave Joey a 'good luck' before walking away.

"Come on, Kaiba."

"Where are we going?" he raised a brow in question at Joey but stood up with him anyway.

"We're going ta your house. Then, I can eat all of your food and ya can tell me about how much and all the ways ya hate me."

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a writing prompt for tattoos of what the soul mate first says to them and just ran with it. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading.
> 
> Update: I added a little something during the 'bake scene.' I hope you enjoy. Thank you GargoyleKing for the amazing idea. You are awesome.


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